Rihanna loses $36m after Fenty Fashion line collapse
Pop superstar and billionaire entrepreneur, Rihanna, has reportedly lost USD36 million after her luxury fashion line, Fenty, launched in partnership with French fashion giant Louis Vuitton (LVMH), collapsed.
New filings from her British company, Denim UK Holdings, indicate that the singer’s high-end fashion venture suffered heavy financial losses before shutting down in 2021.
Rihanna, 37, unveiled Fenty in 2019 as part of a historic collaboration with LVMH, becoming the first Black woman to lead a brand under the luxury group. However, the project struggled to stay afloat, largely due to COVID-19 travel restrictions that prevented her from overseeing production in Paris and Italy.
Reports show that Rihanna invested €29.9 million (about USD34.8 million) through Denim UK Holdings, while LVMH matched her contribution. The French-based company operated under the trade name Project Loud France, a nod to her fifth studio album, Loud.
Despite its star power, the brand failed to resonate with consumers. Items such as a padded denim jacket priced at nearly USD1,000 and an USD810 corseted shirtdress were seen as too expensive compared with her more accessible brands, Fenty Beauty and Savage X Fenty.
In 2021, Rihanna and LVMH agreed to close the fashion label and concentrate on her booming cosmetics and lingerie lines.
Both parties said: “LVMH and Rihanna reaffirm their ambition to concentrate on the growth and long-term development of the Fenty ecosystem, focusing on cosmetics, skincare, and lingerie.”
